A new fact sheet of the SDHp2m project describes how the SDH development, especially in emerging markets, can be monitored over time. It includes recommended information to gather, the process of collecting it and a proposed definition of what to include in the category ‘SDH’.
For monitoring SDH market development, the first point to address is to give an exact definition of a solar district heating plant and also, depending on the market characteristics, a minimum size of the system.
Another key aspect is the amount of information which should be provided and that should be possibly checked with the plant owner and operator. It must include at least: Location, year of commissioning, collector area (aperture or gross) and thermal capacity (in kWth).
Additional details can then include owner of the system, collector type, annual solar yield, type and volume of storage, conventional energy sources used, investment costs, etc.
The new factsheet was elaborated by Daniel Trier from PlanEnergi and is available here.